PlayStation
The PlayStation (プレイステーション Pureisutēshon), officially abbreviated as PS and unofficially referred to as the PSX or PS1, is a 32-bit video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment first released in Japan on December 3, 1994. The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles (and handheld game devices). In 2000, a slim, redesigned version of the console was released, called the PSone, and replaced the original grey console. It was renamed to avoid confusion with its successor, the newly released PlayStation 2. The PlayStation was the first computer entertainment platform to ship 100 million units. Technical specifications Central Processing Unit * LSI LR333x0-based Core ** MIPS R3000A-compatible 32-bit RISC chip running at 33.8688 MHz ** The chip is manufactured by LSI Logic Corp. with technology licensed from SGI. ** Features: *** Operating performance of 30 MIPS *** Bus bandwidth 132 MB/s *** 4 kB Instruction Cache *** 1 kB non-associative SRAM Data Cache *** 2 MB of main RAM * Geometry transformation engine ** Resides inside the main CPU chip, giving it additional vector math instructions used for 3D graphics ** Features: *** Operating performance of 66 MIPS *** 360,000 polygons per second * MDEC ** Also residing within the main CPU, it is responsible for decompressing images and video. ** Documented device mode is to read three RLE-encoded 16×16 macroblocks, run IDCT and assemble a single 16×16 RGB macroblock. ** Output data may be transferred directly to GPU via DMA. ** It is possible to overwrite IDCT matrix and some additional parameters, however MDEC internal instruction set was never documented. ** Features: *** Compatible with MJPEG and H.261 files *** Operating Performance of 80 MIPS *** Directly connected to CPU Bus Connectivity * AV Multi Out * RCA Composite video and Stereo out (SCPH-100x to 3xxx only) * RFU DC Out (SCPH-100x to 3xxx only) * S-Video Out (SCPH-1000 only) * Serial I/O (used for PlayStation Link Cable, not on PSone) * Parallel I/O (no official use, SCPH-100x to 750x only) Graphics Processing Unit *'GPU' ** Handles 2D graphics processing separate from the main 3D engine on the CPU ** Features: *** Maximum of 16.7 million colors (24-bit color depth) *** Resolutions from 256 × 224 to 640 × 480 *** Adjustable frame buffer *** Unlimited color lookup tables *** Emulation of simultaneous backgrounds (for parallax scrolling) *** Flat or Gouraud shading and texture mapping *** 1 MB of VRAM Other * CD-ROM drive ** 2x, with a maximum data throughput of 300 kB/s ** XA Mode 2 Compliant ** CD-DA (CD-Digital Audio) ** 32 kB buffer * Bios * Stored on 512 kB ROM Sound Processing Unit * SPU ** Supports ADPCM sources with up to 24 channels ** Sampling rate of up to 44.1 kHz ** 512 kB of memory Remodels PSone In 2000, a slimmer, redesigned version of the PlayStation was released. It is notably smaller than the original PlayStation. The PSone is noted for going on to outsell all other consoles throughout the remainder of 2000, including Sony's own newly-released PlayStation 2. The PSone is compatible with all software released for the original PlayStation. Differences between the PSone and original Playstation are numerous. Notably, the system became much sleeker; additionally, a system menu GUI was added. Protection against the use of modchips was added to the system as well. The PSone removed parallel and serial ports, allowing users to connect multiple consoles together, debugging software to a console, or third-party devices suh as GameSharks. An alternate version of the PSone was also released, including a five-inch LCD screen and an adapter. This version was called the combo pack. Other Models Net Yaroze An alternate black version of the PlayStation, called the Net Yaroze, was also produced. It was far more expensive than the initial PlayStation, and came with tools and instructions that allowed a user to program their own PlayStation games and applications without a developer suite (which cost many times more than a PlayStation and was only available to approved video game developers). However, programmers were limited by the 2 megabytes of total game space that the Net Yaroze provided. This amount of space can seem small; however, games such as Ridge Racer ran entirely from the system's RAM, with the exception of streamed music tracks. The Net Yaroze was unique in that it was the only officially retailed PlayStation system with no regional lockout, meaning it could play games from any territory. However, it would not play CD-R discs, so it was not possible to create self-booting Yaroze games without a modified version of the console. Category:Consoles released by Sony